# Wait, that's real? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 2, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103 "2012-01-02T01:59:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/161 "2012-01-05T15:38:07Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > FYI, the terms “idiot,” “moron,” and “imbecile” were actual classifications used by the medical profession to designate the degree of mental disability. Idiots had a mental age of less than a three-year-old, imbeciles had a mental age of three to seven-year-old, and morons had a mental age of a seven to ten-year-old. It’s easy to see how those terms could make into the common usage as epithets. True, though idiot is a much older word that already had a common use like we currently use it. > **[Idiot](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot)** > > Idiot is a word used to describe someone who is not very smart. > Today "idiot" is often used to show that someone has done something which was not very clever: > The word "fool" is similar to "idiot", but it is not as strong. In the history of drama a "fool" was a jester: someone who made people laugh. Kings often had jesters in real life. A court jester had the job of making the king feel happy when he was sad. Jesters often pretended to be stupid, but were actually very clever. There are jesters... ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/162 "2012-01-05T16:14:38Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > When I first heard the song “Kilkelly, Ireland” (in the US as it happens) I thought the place name was either a vanishingly insignificant townland or made up to sound like an Irish place name. Years later I was on an intercity coach that went through the village of Kilkelly. :smack: When my wife and I drove around Ireland, we got a big kick out of seeing the villages on the map that our favorite band (Gaelic Storm) sprinkles into their songs. Ballybunion, particularly, we had figured was mythical. Not only is it real, but rather well-known. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/163 "2012-01-05T16:20:50Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > The Michelangelo/Pope sketch Monty Python performed for some benefits actually happened! Okay, not quite, but the sketch was based on a historical incident. The painter Paolo Veronese really did paint a Last Supper with extraneous figures. The Inquisition investigated, Veronese basically claimed artistic license, and he was advised to paint those figures out. Instead, he really did just rename it. [Paolo Veronese - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Veronese#The_House_of_Levi) He also agreed to paint out the kangaroo. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/164 "2012-01-05T16:28:13Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > This afternoon my 11yo daughter was reading a book of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages. She brought the book to me and said “This can’t possibly be real! They made that up, right?” A character was claiming to be proficient in all sorts of magical arts, such as aeromancy and _spatulamancy_. We looked it up, and sure enough, spatulamancy is totally real; it’s the art of divining with a scorched shoulderblade bone. [**Scap** ulamancy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scapulimancy) is the art of shoulderblade divination. Learned about it from the excellent Chinese Fantasy novel, _Bridge of Birds_. _ **Spat** ulamancy_ would be divining based on the layout of utensils after tipping out your kitchen drawers. - That wiki article mentions it as an alternative, but doesn’t give a citation. Although I see it is in the dictionary. Way to ruin a joke, reality…\* . ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/165 "2012-01-05T16:46:28Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > The Michelangelo/Pope sketch Monty Python performed for some benefits actually happened! Okay, not quite, but the sketch was based on a historical incident. The painter Paolo Veronese really did paint a Last Supper with extraneous figures. The Inquisition investigated, Veronese basically claimed artistic license, and he was advised to paint those figures out. Instead, he really did just rename it. [Paolo Veronese - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Veronese#The_House_of_Levi) I followed the link to look at the picture, and “extraneous figures” is the understatement of all time. 🆒 There’s not thirteen at dinner, there’s three dozen or more. Its like “Where’s Waldo: Renaissance Edition.” There’s guys literally climbing the walls on one side of the room. There’s a kid about to whack a dwarf with a metal dinner plate. There’s a black cardinal button-holing a man who’s the spitting image of Jackie Gleason, and a bearded man apparently making a dramatic (and/or drunken) speech. There’s no kangaroo, alas, but there **is** a cocker spaniel. In the middle is Jesus, leaning over to the (rather non-Apostle-ish) guest next to him as if to ask “Who invited all these people?!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/166 "2012-01-05T16:57:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Watching old Disney cartoons when I was younger, I’d see the name Ub Iwerks in the credits. Obviously, this was a made-up name for some other animator. That’s exactly what I thought about Family Guy writer Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, who is apparently a real person. (though I’m sure someone will be by soon to say she’s actually a manatee..) ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/167 "2012-01-05T17:12:43Z")
> [@coffinjumper](#): > > The first time I saw a commercial for The Social Network I thought it was a joke. The very idea was so ridiculous I was sure it was a parody trailer like something on SNL. The next few months with all the jokes online which followed the premise only helped me to spend the entire time not sure whether it was real or not, but suspecting joke. It wasn’t until it started showing up one people’s best of the year list that I fully realized it was indeed a real movie. My mind still balks at the idea and I think I’m going to just keep going with my initial interpretation and refusing to believe it. I don’t understand. Why does the idea of that movie bother you so much? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/168 "2012-01-05T18:19:28Z")
Back when MASH was still on, Klinger kept talking about a Toledo restaurant named Packo’s Hungarian Hot Dogs. As it turns out, Jamie Farr went to school in Toledo, and Packo’s was one of his favorite places. He convinced the writers of the show to write it in. Since then, every cast member has been there. > [@gonzoron](#): > > That’s exactly what I thought about Family Guy writer Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, who is apparently a real person. (though I’m sure someone will be by soon to say she’s actually a manatee..) And there’s another TV writer named Speed Weed. ---
**Author:** ![Stormcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Stormcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stormcrow)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/169 "2012-01-05T19:32:39Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > As a kid I always thought Cardinal Richelieu was a fictional character in the cartoon series Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds. Was only in my late teens I noticed a history book in the house with an account of Richelieu’s time. Many people don’t realize that D’Artagnan himself is a historical figure. I’m pretty sure I had no idea when I first became aware of the Three Musketeers. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/170 "2012-01-05T20:03:37Z")
> [@Stormcrow](#): > > Many people don’t realize that D’Artagnan himself is a historical figure. I’m pretty sure I had no idea when I first became aware of the Three Musketeers. As are Cyrano de Bergerac, John Henry, and Uncle Sam (despite many attempts to dislodge the last of these) ---
**Author:** ![coffinjumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@coffinjumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffinjumper)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/171 "2012-01-05T20:28:48Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I don’t understand. Why does the idea of that movie bother you so much? Because it’s a movie about Facebook. Facebook. Which I already find pointless and annoying, and it’s only gotten worse since I got away from the addicted people in college to find it suddenly everywhere. Hell I like twitter and google a lot more (Google a whole lot) and I’d still go WTF?!? if someone made a movie about either of them. It does not compute in my head. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Hoodie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2acd7d/32.png) [@Red\_Hoodie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Hoodie)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/172 "2012-01-05T22:42:52Z")
> [@coffinjumper](#): > > Because it’s a movie about Facebook. Facebook. Which I already find pointless and annoying, and it’s only gotten worse since I got away from the addicted people in college to find it suddenly everywhere. Hell I like twitter and google a lot more (Google a whole lot) and I’d still go WTF?!? if someone made a movie about either of them. It does not compute in my head. Agreed. It’s too Inception-y. Or the internet is leaking. Or something like that. Something just doesn’t feel right about it. My “that’s a thing?” moment was when I realized that my trypophobia was real. It was always a joke in my family growing up that when we saw something that would trigger that squirmy feeling, we’d want to “pick at it”, presumably to disfigure the object, and not be squirmed out by it. Then I watched this video. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwE3xcWjfe8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwE3xcWjfe8) (Forgive me if you puked in your mouth.) So yeah. Now I have a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/173 "2012-01-05T23:00:41Z")
> [@coffinjumper](#): > > Because it’s a movie about Facebook. Facebook. Which I already find pointless and annoying, and it’s only gotten worse since I got away from the addicted people in college to find it suddenly everywhere. Hell I like twitter and google a lot more (Google a whole lot) and I’d still go WTF?!? if someone made a movie about either of them. It does not compute in my head. Not really. It’s a movie about the development of a multi-billion dollar company. One of the most influential companies of the past decade, started in a dorm room. It was about the genesis of the idea, the marketing strategies, legal disputes, and other crucial decisions made along the way. It isn’t as though the whole movie revolves around people logging on and off of Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/174 "2012-01-05T23:02:26Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > And there’s another TV writer named Speed Weed. Speed Weed is likely a pseudonym however. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/175 "2012-01-05T23:13:09Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > There really is an Engelbert Humperdinck. He’s not a running gag made up by stand-up comedians. He’s not a 13th century Flemish botanist or anything of the sort, either. And he \*chose \*that name for himself. The flashbacks keep coming. > [@](#): > > Poem - Originally Posted by Henry Gibson > > Oh, Englebert Humperdink, > When you drive, does your bumper clink? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/176 "2012-01-05T23:14:15Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > It isn’t as though the whole movie revolves around people logging on and off of Facebook. The existence of that movie bothers me too. Not only is the world suddenly populated with people who \*are \*constantly logging on and off Facebook, even the movies they watch have to be about the damned thing now? In fact, when that movie appeared, that was the moment when I decided that this was no longer my world and sent me looking for the exit. I’m not going to argue with all you people. You can keep the world, do whatever you want with it, I don’t give a shit anymore. I’m just leaving. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/177 "2012-01-05T23:23:21Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Speed Weed is likely a pseudonym however. Half a pseudonym. His real name is apparently William Weed. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/178 "2012-01-05T23:26:02Z")
> [@coffinjumper](#): > > Because it’s a movie about Facebook. Facebook. I sympathize with your displeasure with the movie, but that’s a bit like saying that _The Black Swan_ is a movie about ornithology. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/179 "2012-01-05T23:30:50Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > The existence of that movie bothers me too. Not only is the world suddenly populated with people who \*are \*constantly logging on and off Facebook, even the movies they watch have to be about the damned thing now? > > In fact, when that movie appeared, that was the moment when I decided that this was no longer my world and sent me looking for the exit. I’m not going to argue with all you people. You can keep the world, do whatever you want with it, I don’t give a shit anymore. I’m just leaving. What the hell? You’re bothered by a movie that spotlights the creation of a billion dollar company by a teenager? Yeah, what is this world coming to? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![coffinjumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@coffinjumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffinjumper)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103/180 "2012-01-05T23:40:02Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I sympathize with your displeasure with the movie, but that’s a bit like saying that _The Black Swan_ is a movie about ornithology. The trailer I saw for Black Swan didn’t even mention orinthology. No visuals indicating it either. I haven’t seen it either, but the trailer did indicate ballerina and a thriller. The trailers for Social Network I saw seemed to focus entirely on facebook. I really don’t think that’s a good comparison. At least not according to how these films marketed themselves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-thats-real/608103.md?page=10)